Early identification of a clustered epidemic of typhoid fever through pathogen molecular subtyping monitoring

Abstract

Objective: To identify a suspected clustered Typhoid fever by whole genome sequencing(WGS) and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) subtyping. Methods: The nature of the epidemic was determined by combination of subtyping results of isolates and epidemiological information. Results: Five S. typhimurium isolates showed identical PFGE patterns and almost the same whole genome sequence. Epidemiological survey showed that five cases had dined in the same restaurant on the same day. Conclusion: Combined with the longest incubation period of typhoid fever, molecular subtyping of pathogenic bacteria and the field epidemiological survey, it can be preliminarily determined that the five cases have common infection sources.